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xAFNYx

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Hello everyone! I just purchased a 98 silverado k1500 stepside. It's my first real truck and I kinda love it so far.

Allegedly, "motor was replaced for one with 120,000 miles (out of a Tahoe) old motor oil pump let go after 190,000 faithful miles. The transmission and rear was replaced at 186,000.
Truck has a rough country 3” lift with the lower control arms and shocks. Has 34” tires with a whole lot of life left. Has a pioneer BT radio with all new interior pioneer speakers."

I kinda wish it wasn't a 3" lift, but it is what it is. The truck is pretty clean, no rot. I mainly got it for the mystery ny winters and maybe for driving on the beach in the summer.

In the 2 weeks I've owned it, I already have a bunch of cosmetic plans for it after I get major mechanical things done. I already plan on doing the nbs master cylinder upgrade bc the 2 mile brake pedal sponge is crazy to me, flushing and changing all the fluids, it does need a few amount of suspension/steering parts that are already on the way.

I'm wondering if anyone has any input/ advice/ suggestions in some things I can/should do? Any help or direction is always appreciated. I look forward to talking with and getting to know the community and hopefully learning a bunch ab these awesome machines.
 

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kennythewelder

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Welcome to the forum. Just dig through the forum. There is plenty of info here to help you out. It's all up to what you want the truck to be once your done, but you never really are. I have had mine for 19 years, and I still find things to do to it. I saw you had a post about the 120 cluster. I have one for mine. It's a nice upgrade. A custom tune is also very nice. http://blackbearperformance.com
has a mail order tune available. Also with big tires, differential gear swaps are almost a must. Figure out what gear ratio you have now, then match tire size to gearing.
 
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Erik the Awful

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I already plan on doing the nbs master cylinder upgrade bc the 2 mile brake pedal sponge is crazy to me
Adjust your rear drums before you do anything else. If you have to fight to get your drums over the shoes, you're probably about right. Use your parking brake regularly and you won't have to adjust them as often. Waaaay too many people swap to the NBS master cylinder without properly fixing the existing brakes. The NBS master cylinder will give you good pedal feel, but many people who've done the swap say that in an emergency stop it can't perform.
 

kennythewelder

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Adjust your rear drums before you do anything else. If you have to fight to get your drums over the shoes, you're probably about right. Use your parking brake regularly and you won't have to adjust them as often. Waaaay too many people swap to the NBS master cylinder without properly fixing the existing brakes. The NBS master cylinder will give you good pedal feel, but many people who've done the swap say that in an emergency stop it can't perform.
I did the NBS swap some years back. It's been a grate improvement on my truck. I don't know why it seems to work grate on some trucks, and not so much on others. I know I have jb5 brakes. IMO, it is a matter of having the system at peak performance. I have made slam on the brakes may times since I did the swap, and never had an issue. I totally agree, that the back brakes need to be adjusted where you almost can't get the drum back on. The self adjusters need to function properly also. Old fluid must be flushed through the system with new fluid from time to time. This also helps with stoping power. You get these brakes working at peak performance, and it's not a bad system, but if there are issues, it is very evident that there are issues. The NBS swap does give a better peddle feel, and has been a good swap on my ,97. Funny though that I had grate brakes in my 93 WT, and it never needed a NBS swap. I guess all of the ABS crap they added in 95 or 96 whatever is an issue with our trucks.
 

xAFNYx

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Man, I REALLY hope the previous owner saw this chart lol
 

xAFNYx

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I did the NBS swap some years back. It's been a grate improvement on my truck. I don't know why it seems to work grate on some trucks, and not so much on others. I know I have jb5 brakes. IMO, it is a matter of having the system at peak performance. I have made slam on the brakes may times since I did the swap, and never had an issue. I totally agree, that the back brakes need to be adjusted where you almost can't get the drum back on. The self adjusters need to function properly also. Old fluid must be flushed through the system with new fluid from time to time. This also helps with stoping power. You get these brakes working at peak performance, and it's not a bad system, but if there are issues, it is very evident that there are issues. The NBS swap does give a better peddle feel, and has been a good swap on my ,97. Funny though that I had grate brakes in my 93 WT, and it never needed a NBS swap. I guess all of the ABS crap they added in 95 or 96 whatever is an issue with our trucks.
The FIRST thing I said when I test drove it is "man. We gotta get these brakes or this brake pedal to perform 500% better.
 

xAFNYx

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Welcome to the forum. Just dig through the forum. There is plenty of info here to help you out. It's all up to what you want the truck to be once your done, but you never really are. I have had mine for 19 years, and I still find things to do to it. I saw you had a post about the 120 cluster. I have one for mine. It's a nice upgrade. A custom tune is also very nice. http://blackbearperformance.com
has a mail order tune available. Also with big tires, differential gear swaps are almost a must. Figure out what gear ratio you have now, then match tire size to gearing.
Thank you for the welcome! Yeah, I can definitely say I've spent the better part of the last 2 weeks just on here. I hope the last guy did the gears when he lifted it and put big wheels on it, if it were up to me, a leveling kit would've been ideal, but it was a good deal, so it is what it is. One of the first things I looked for was clusters bc half my needles are boogy-ing.
 

df2x4

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The FIRST thing I said when I test drove it is "man. We gotta get these brakes or this brake pedal to perform 500% better.

As others have mentioned the NBS master swap isn't always a good choice, and IMO if the existing brake system is functioning properly it's not necessary at all. Your truck being a '98, the absolute best thing you can do to improve pedal feel is to make sure that everything is adjusted properly and then have the brakes bled (including the ABS module) using a GM Tech2 or equivalent bi-directional scan tool. If any air is trapped in the ABS module it can severely impact pedal feel, and a scan tool bleed is by far the safest and most reliable way to get it out. Doing this on both of my '97s was a massive improvement, pedal feel improved greatly and the pedal doesn't drop nearly as far as it used to before the brakes start to grab.

Once that's taken care of, if you want more stopping power you can upgrade the pads and shoes to something with a more aggressive coefficient of friction, indicated by the two letter DOT friction code stamped onto them. More info about that in this thread:

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/ebc-yellowstuff-brake-pads-worth-it.47903/
 
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